Chapter 18
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: After-Action Review (2)
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Colonel.
The end of the field-grade officer ranks.
Generally, a position responsible for a single regiment, commanding approximately three thousand soldiers based on a standard infantry regiment.
Three thousand.
That meant a mid-sized city was effectively under his command. In fact, it was fair to say he held the power of a mayor.
His treatment was commensurate with that status; within his jurisdiction, he was an untouchable authority who need bow to no one.
However, even such a colonel could not compare to a general.
The scale of the unit commanded, the area of responsibility, the weight of the burden on the shoulders, the power held in hand.
It was in a completely different league from a mere colonel.
The true center of power, where a city-level figure was treated as 'mere'. That was a general-grade officer.
There was a reason why the saying "becoming a general is like reaching for the stars" was common among officers.
From that perspective, the behavior Colonel Soni Chepelin was displaying now was utterly unacceptable.
Not one star, but two.
She not only barged into a meeting presided over by a major general without permission, but she also failed to show respect to Nobgordo. She didn't even render a salute and spoke freely to the major general.
It was an unthinkable act in the military, which maintained a more vertical structure than any other organization.
If the division commander had been enraged and slapped her right then and there, everyone present would have accepted it as natural.
But Nobgordo did not.
No, to be precise, he couldn't.
If there was one person who was treated as an exception to the 'laws of the military' that were strictly observed, that person was Colonel Soni Chepelin.
Grand Archmage of the Sky.
The title of Grand Archmage was not something just anyone could receive.
One had to be a mage who had achieved accomplishments recognized officially by the Central Mage Association, and one had to possess overwhelming magical power compared to all other mages on the continent.
In addition, one had to satisfy all sorts of difficult conditions, accumulate achievements, and receive even more recognition to reach that level.
That was why, across the entire continent, there were only 12 people who were 'officially' called Grand Archmages.
In the first place, a Grand Archmage was treated as a kind of 'strategic weapon'. An absolute weapon that could turn the tide of a disadvantageous battle in a single blow.
She was, in fact, considered the most powerful asset in the Ukran military.
That was why even Major General Nobgordo, who was far ahead in age, experience, and rank, had to yield.
It wasn't just because of the position of Grand Archmage; she was also the daughter of the Chepelin family, which was close to the Duke.
If Major General Nobgordo had slapped her, it would have been no different from destroying with his own hands the tower he had built over the years.
"Ahem... Colonel Soni Chepelin, don't you think it's a bit inappropriate to act this way in front of your subordinates?"
"Ah, glory to the Fatherland."
"......"
A sloppy salute with a tilted cap. Nobgordo's expression twisted.
It was a salute that was worse than not doing it at all, and moreover, what Nobgordo had said wasn't just about the salute.
"Well, never mind that. So, could you tell me that officer's name and where he is?"
"Colonel Soni. I cannot indulge your whims forever. Forty soldiers were attacked by a band of thieves and killed! Do you not realize the gravity of this situation!?"
The division commander's voice trembled with rage. A Grand Archmage. Fine, I get it. But this was going too far.
Nobgordo had come here in his capacity as a division commander.
Since Belgorod Fortress had been attacked, as the superior unit commander responsible for the 18th Regiment stationed there, he had a duty to hold a meeting and accurately ascertain the facts.
In contrast, Colonel Soni Chepelin was a person completely unrelated to this fortress attack.
There was no reason for her to attend the meeting, and even less reason to bother learning the personal details of the second lieutenant who had become the main character of the incident.
"You are currently committing a serious abuse of authority."
"What if it's not an abuse?"
Nobgordo warned firmly, but Soni Chepelin did not back down. She even boldly asserted her own authority.
"Colonel! Are you trying to mock me right now!?"
"Major General Nobgordo, you don't know anything either."
She pulled something out from inside her military uniform and showed it to the officers gathered in the meeting room.
A golden emblem engraved with the shape of a bear. It was a symbol that any Ukran soldier would know.
It was the crest of Duke Orando Russ III, the ruler of the Ukran Duchy.
"His Highness the Duke has ordered me to thoroughly investigate the truth of this incident."
Her voice was completely different from before. Even Division Commander Nobgordo shut his mouth and listened intently to her next words.
"It was a top-secret operation, so I didn't mention it separately... but a valuable 'artifact' was being temporarily stored at the Belgorod Fortress that was attacked."
"An artifact?"
At Soni Chepelin's words, the air in the meeting room stirred. Why on earth was an artifact being stored in that remote fortress?
Detecting the questions blooming on the officers' faces, the colonel immediately spoke.
"I cannot tell you the details... but anyway, it's a decree from the Duke. I have just received the authority from the commander of the National Gendarmerie unit that was investigating the scene."
In an instant, the mood on the scene was overturned. With the Duke's decree issued, the authority of Major General Nobgordo, a mere division commander, was rendered powerless.
"Now, let's return to what we were discussing. What is that second lieutenant's name, affiliation, and current location?"
"I failed."
"Hmm... I guess there's no helping it."
Bell Mayer, who had left the hospital room for a while, trudged back. I had secretly hoped, but it seemed she was rejected after all.
"She was busy as hell and even gave me an earful, telling me not to keep hanging around."
She pouted and grumbled.
It wasn't hard to understand. The division commander had personally conducted the inspection, so the atmosphere in the staff office was probably on the verge of exploding, as the saying goes.
"Still, thank you."
"It's the platoon leader's request, of course. Ah, by the way, did Claude come by?"
"Yes, before you came, Sergeant Bell."
"So he still has some conscience left, visiting the sick. If he hadn't come, I was going to give him a piece of my mind."
"Haha..."
Of course, for someone visiting a wounded superior, his attire was quite casual.
His hair was messy, and he smelled strangely of alcohol, as if he had come right after waking up from a heavy drinking session.
- I heard you got hurt while pulling Lumia out.
- Yes, well. That's what happened.
- My god. I've seen countless wounded during my military career, but this is the first time I've seen someone get hurt in such a ridiculous way.
- My body is particularly frail.
- Tsk.
The conversation they had couldn't really be called wholesome either... but still, didn't he come thinking of me?
To be honest, if he hadn't visited, I might have felt a little disappointed.
And the fact that he didn't use a single curse word was a stark contrast to the attitude Sergeant Claude usually showed.
"Well, I should be heading back now. If I stay here, the platoon leader won't be able to rest. You need to rest well to get better quickly."
Sergeant Bell Mayer stood up, brushing off her butt.
"Then, rest well?"
"Ah, hold on a second, Sergeant Bell Mayer."
"?"
I grabbed the sleeve of Bell, who was about to leave.
"That... the fact that Sergeant Lumia has left the front line is a secret between us two. Lumia discovered a golem while taking a detour and went to block its path on my orders."
Soon, the Gendarmerie and the internal investigation team would cross-check our testimonies to conduct a proper investigation into the facts.
If it were revealed in that process that Sergeant Lumia had left the front line without permission.
No matter how much she had engaged in combat with unidentified golems, she wouldn't be able to avoid disciplinary action. She could even end up being court-martialed.
I was planning to cover up Lumia's desertion right then and there.
"Of course, Platoon Leader."
"We have to take this secret to our graves, you know? For all of us."
It wasn't just empty words.
The fact that we could identify the mages belonging to the Sovye Empire, who were suspected of being behind the fortress attack, was purely a stroke of luck.
If Lumia's desertion was confirmed, the achievements we had built up, both Bell's and mine, would surely be downplayed.
We might even be held collectively responsible.
The military was such a place.
Bell Mayer knew this fact well too, so she nodded to show her agreement.
"I'll definitely keep my promise. The secret."
"Good. It's a secret between just the two of us."
At that moment, as we were reaffirming our resolve by hooking our pinkies together.
"Aha! I caught you red-handed!!!"
*BOOM!!!*
A woman appeared as the door slammed into the wall as if it would break. Three chrysanthemums were drawn on her fluttering officer's coat.
"Oh-ho~ What are you two doing? What secret did you share to make those expressions? Tell me too!"
What the hell? Who is this now?