Chapter 19
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: After-Action Review (3)
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"Who... might you be?"
As I asked back, the young colonel with violet hair smiled brightly and replied.
"I'm Soni Chepelin. It's strange~ You must have met me at least once if you graduated from the military academy?"
"Huh?"
Soni Chepelin?
The Grand Archmage of the Sky???
Why is she here?
My eyes widened in shock. I clearly remembered the name Soni Chepelin as well.
Objectively speaking, the Ukran Duchy was overwhelmingly weaker compared to all other playable nations, unless you played as the similarly situated Walter 3 Kingdoms.
However, even as such a weakest nation, before the start of the world war, whether it's the Free Alliance Army or the Imperial Alliance Army, they must open the Ukran front.
And that problematic Ukran front, even when I, a veteran, prepared everything and started the war, would consume at least one month in game time.
In other words, it means they possess 'at least a minimum level of military power' that can hold out for that long, no matter which faction invades.
That's why, before I was possessed, I judged that if I played from the Ukran perspective, there was a hope of winning.
After all, you need something to work with, right?
Even I wouldn't do the crazy act of using Somalia to conquer the United States. There are things that are possible and impossible in games too.
If they released a challenge like that, it would really be crossing the line.
Because of that, I planned to use Soni Chepelin as the most important hidden card for Ukran victory.
One of only 12 Grand Archmages on the continent.
Originally, they are treated as a type of strategic weapon and a powerful force in the system of Hearts of General.
In short, they are weapons that can manipulate the flow of an entire campaign, like world-class generals such as Manstein of Germany, MacArthur of the USA, or Zhukov of the Soviet Union.
Actually, if I had to pick the strongest and most troublesome enemy in the Ukran campaign, I would pick Soni Chepelin's unit without hesitation.
'The problem is why she is here right now.'
In the game, the only chance to meet Soni Chepelin was after the war broke out, so it's natural that I couldn't remember for a moment. Above all, her appearance was a bit different from what I saw in the game.
'She looks much younger than I thought.'
Back then, she looked at least in her forties, but now she's undoubtedly in her twenties. Can she change that much in just 5 years?
"Right? You're just realizing it now? I'm the one who goes to the military academy to give a speech every year~."
She quickly caught on that I recognized her and grinned.
"So, let's get back to the main point! What were the two of you talking about? It was something secret, or something like that."
Her expression was wide open, but the gaze I felt was by no means gentle. Rather, the killing intent felt sharp and stinging.
"M-Madam Soni Chepelin, Colonel... Nothing happened."
Bell Mayer answered urgently. Then, the gaze that was glaring at me moved to Bell.
"You were Sergeant Bell Mayer, I believe?"
"Sergeant Bell Mayer!!"
"You shouldn't lie. Right? It's not like my ears are just for show."
As Soni Chepelin flicked her finger, mana that spread out in an instant swallowed the space. With a thud, and a feeling as if gravity had intensified, my body was crushed.
'Pressure Amplification'.
An advanced violet magic that amplifies air pressure to crush forcibly.
It could easily blow up a person, but right now, she was using mana just to exert pressure.
It was a terrifyingly precise, fast, and subtle mana control.
"The one over there is injured, so I won't touch her. I wasn't planning to get involved with every little soldier anyway."
"Ugh, wh-what is this...!"
Bell Mayer, barely enduring the compressed air pressure, painfully raised her head. Her lips were trembling.
"Your posture is wrong from the start. Kneel."
"Kyaa!!"
Thud!!
Bell Mayer collapsed powerlessly onto the ground. She couldn't withstand the crushing air pressure and collapsed.
The space of the medical ward was already completely dominated by Soni Chepelin.
"Even if you are a colonel...! You can't treat us like this...!!"
"Sergeant Bell Mayer, stop."
I stood in the way of Bell Mayer, who was trying to deploy her mana as well.
She absolutely couldn't oppose her power, and antagonizing this woman in this situation was by no means a wise judgment.
"As expected, since you're an officer, you know how to read the situation well?"
"Madam Soni Chepelin, I promise I will tell you everything. Could you please clear up your suspicions?"
"Suspicions? I came here almost certain."
At that moment.
I realized intuitively that Soni Chepelin was seriously misunderstanding something.
She was clearly thinking that I and Lumia were connected to the unidentified faction we fought against.
'From the division commander to the Grand Archmage?'
The division commander had many casualties under his command, so it's understandable.
But for a Grand Archmage to come looking for me, it meant that this fortress raid incident was not simply a bandit raid.
'There was definitely something in that fortress.'
It was just a hypothesis, but now it was gradually turning into a certainty.
"It is dangerous to blindly trust a judgment born from a misunderstanding. Can you truly take responsibility for this?"
Despite the increasing pressure, I looked straight into Soni Chepelin's face and spoke.
I must not shrink back. In the end, it's about face and guts.
Even after clearly seeing Bell Mayer get crushed onto the ground, I was standing up to the colonel, so it would definitely catch her attention.
"......Your expression is good."
Click!
As Soni Chepelin snapped her fingers, the heavily compressed air returned to its original state like a ghost. The mana in the atmosphere stabilized in the blink of an eye as if nothing had happened.
I realized once again the power held by the name Grand Archmage. They are beings beyond all normal bounds—you can't even call them human.
"So? Let's hear it."
"We were only talking about Sergeant Lumia's desertion."
"Desertion?"
Soni Chepelin's eyes narrowed. Bell, who had stood up from her seat, seemed to judge that hiding it further was meaningless and bit her lip as if frustrated.
"Madam Soni Chepelin, you knew that I and Lumia fought against an unidentified group of mages, correct?"
"That's right. Why else would I come looking for a second lieutenant?"
The colonel nodded in agreement. At this point, Soni Chepelin had already been drawn into my pace.
"Did you speculate that we might have some connection to that group? Your suspicion is that we didn't fight them, but rather, we might have collaborated with them, correct?"
Spy.
Soni Chepelin couldn't not know that all sorts of powerful nations surrounding the border were eyeing the Ukran Duchy.
And for those nations to devour the Ukran Duchy deliciously, they must prepare thoroughly in advance.
'Sending agents' would be that first step.
Especially for agents sent to the army, it's much better to send them as officers rather than as low-ranking soldiers.
The quantity and quality of information they can collect would be on a different level.
In other words, this woman was thinking of me as a spy.
'That's extremely radical.'
There was nothing particularly surprising. Even in the game, Grand Archmages were like this. They are incredibly dangerous and scary existences, but they are all eccentrics with a screw loose.
Soni Chepelin was one of them, so this level could be considered relatively mild.
After all, in the Reinhardt Empire in the south, there are crazy guys who just rip out your thoughts if they suspect you, and interrogate you through hypnosis, right?
Hitting her with a surprise strike, the colonel's expression wavered slightly. I didn't miss that fleeting moment and planned to drive in the wedge.
"I apologize for saying this, Madam Colonel, but your premise itself is wrong from the start. There are three errors."
I spread out three fingers.
"First, I am a newly commissioned second lieutenant who hasn't even been a month since graduating from the military academy."
As I said before, a person like a Grand Archmage wouldn't have meticulously examined my records. They just suspected me, so they barged in and started interrogating first.
I folded one finger.
"Second, our platoon was practically abandoned by the unit, and we were scheduled to be left as reserves, not even at the tip of the wing, in this operation."
If they didn't even know my personal records, would they have looked at the platoon's records?
"And lastly, I chased after Sergeant Lumia, who had deserted the front line in a panic, and ended up fighting against the unidentified mage group."
Now that I have dismantled all the premises, all that's left is to give the conclusion.
"I have never colluded with any hostile force of the Ukran Duchy."
"I have never leaked tactical maps."
"There is no reason to specifically target Belgorod Fortress out of the many border fortresses to attack."
"Furthermore, I participated in the battle. If you, Madam Colonel, had been there, you would never have had such suspicions."
Soni Chepelin's expression changed by the moment. At first, it was like 'Is that so...', and now it felt as if she was realizing without a doubt that she had acted tyrannically.
"Just what do you take me for?"
Checkmate.